October 2, 2012

Here's the University of Wisconsin's latest information about the various intrusions to be experienced when the President of the United States has his big political rally historical oration on Bascom Mall. I noticed this:

Blinds in buildings facing the event area need to be closed on Thursday. Anyone standing in a window facing the event area Thursday can expect to be contacted by police personnel.

But it turns out, I can't be in my office anyway:

Academic and administrative buildings: Between the hours of 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. the following buildings will be closed to classes, employees and all other activities: Science Hall, Education, North Hall, South Hall, Law School and Music Hall. Students should await details from their instructors on alternative arrangements.

The law school building will be inaccessible for 11 hours. And my students are told to "await details" from me.

By the way, the University is still linking to the Obama campaign website, where you have to go to get a ticket. You cannot attend unless you give the campaign your telephone number.

So is the Obama campaign going to reimburse the students for their missed classes? Doesn't he know how expensive an education is these days? If I were a student there, I would demand payment for missed class time.

"Blinds in buildings facing the event area need to be closed on Thursday. Anyone standing in a window facing the event area Thursday can expect to be contacted by police personnel."

Yes, because a smart sniper would of course stand out in the open where he or she could be seen, instead of, you know, HIDING BEHIND THE FUCKING BLINDS. Sometimes the stupidity of my law enforcement breathern astounds me.

On the other hand, it's more likely they are worried about photos being taken from up above showing a less than hoped for crowd? Normally I wouldn't worry about that there, but Barry hasn't been exactly bringing them in droves lately, has he?

Obviously there are valid security concerns regarding the buildings, etc., but the whole name, address, phone number, email deal plus the shutting of the buildings so no photos can be taken from above points to advance damage control in case crowds are smaller than they hope.

How many people get to take the day off from a job? Tell your students that the material on Thursday will form the crux of the midterm, and then make it so. If they complain about not being able to see the President, repeat the first sentence, above.

I think you should hold the class in Bascom. I notice it's not closed (wouldn't want to inconvenience the Adminstration!!). Or the top floor of Van Hise. You could see -- well, if the blinds were open -- Bascom from there.

"It would be awful to become a martyr for a cause you don't even support."

I know you mean this literally; but A is already getting as much martyrdom as she can squeeze out of this. Expect a flood of pictures sufficient to last the next three months, in which the little woman has imagined herself being treated unfairly (oh, the incivility of it!) or--MAH GAWD, I WAS THREATENED, THAT BIG MAN BACKED INTO MY TOE!

but the whole name, address, phone number, email deal plus the shutting of the buildings so no photos can be taken from above points to advance damage control in case crowds are smaller than they hope.

I'm not a security expert, but I imagine not wanting people standing in windows has more to do with security than people taking pictures.

Obama drew 20,000 in Milwaukee a few weeks ago, I'm guessing he will do well in Madison.

gosh, can I remember back to 2004 when you had to sign a paper declaring you were a Bush supporter and you would behave and all kinds of stuff in rallys at a public place...so those folks just need to go stuff it.

it is either this, or not have the President come on a school day. I really don't think the security measures are that surprising. Whether or not the need for such measures should have dissuaded him from coming to campus is another question altogether.

Let me put it this way: the University is saying you won't be allowed to be in your office.

I suspect that you have keys which will give you access even if the front door of the building is locked. Thus, they cannot deny you access unless either (a) a guard is posted at every door of that building, or (b) the locks at the outside doors are changed to not accept the key you currently use.

Option (a) is more likely, but the University may still simply lock the doors and trust those with keys to stay away.

I'm still not sure that you would like to test the system by showing up and attempting to get into your office.

But my first guess is that it is very possible. Most University buldings have several entrances; even if a guard is posted, the guard is not likely to be at all entrances that a Professor's key would open.

Aside: it is worth noting that very few people in the press realize or articulate the amount of security hassle that surrounds visits from the President.

Roads get shut down, traffic diverted, regular use of buildings of suspended or canceled for a day.

It's almost like the President and the Press retinue that reports on him live inside a bubble. They don't understand the perspective from outside that bubble.

Another aside: I once worked a student-employee job that entailed being a Security Assistant at a University. I rapidly learned that security of buildings mostly depended on when the doors were locked, and who had access to the keys. Every building had at least one entrance for general use, and a secondary entrance for use by maintenance staff. Both doors would open to the same set of keys. Every door inside the building had a unique key, but those keys would also open the main door to the building.

Worryingly, sometimes doors that should be closed were left open. Sometimes, doors that should be open are left locked. Sometimes, student groups had forgotten to request late-night access to the room that they wanted to use. (And once a student group reserved a 10x10 storage room for a meeting that involved more than 100 people. Either that, or they wrote the room-number of the storage room onto the request form when they had intended to write the room-number of an adjacent auditorium...)

I also learned that security mostly depended on trusting the people involved. If many people attempt to break the security system, then some will succeed. Because no security system is unbreakable. However, some security systems are better than others at minimizing the consequences of people breaking through security.

I really don't think the security measures are that surprising. Whether or not the need for such measures should have dissuaded him from coming to campus is another question altogether.

Look, there is no educational point in shutting down half a university campus during class time so that the President can hold a campaign rally. On what grounds is this defensible? I'd say that the President, like any other candidate for any office, ought to be able to make as many speeches as he likes; but that if he insists on making them in places where the speechmaking impedes the actual business of the people for whom the institution actually exists, then he's being a bit of a jerk, and the UW administrators allowing it are accomplices-in-jerkitude.

Err, the students attending Obama's "rally" will have to give up more than their phone #s. They'll have to give up their free speech rights if they want to get in. Sure, it's temporary, but temporary does have a funny way of becoming permanent when the gov't is involved. Camel's nose and all that.

So UW Madison pretty much takes the mask off and announces "screw neutrality, we want you to vote for Obama!" One gets mighty sick and tired of having to say over and over, "You know, if this were happening with a Republican candidate" ah heck you know the rest.